It Always Comes Back
by blackandblueangel
Summary: Jess felt like she had no need to worry about her safety: until now. When her past comes back to haunt her, can Don and the CSIs keep her safe? Flangell, Dantana edited on 10/21/10
1. Chapter 1

_**Summary: Jess felt like she had no need to worry about her safety: until now. When her past comes back to haunt her, can Don and the CSIs keep her safe?**_

_**Disclaimer: No, I don't own CSI: New York or any of the other CSIs. They belong to some rich guy somewhere, never bothered to look it up. If I did own CSI: New York, Jess and Aiden would not have died. What was the point to Aiden's death?**_

_**A/N: I wasn't going to post this but what the hell. I probably did not pick the right time to post this because I'm in the process of moving to Georgia. I apologize in advance for how much time goes by between chapters. Cheers!**_

Jessica Angell always told herself that she didn't fear anyone. Being a homicide detective, fearing people wasn't an option in her opinion. She stood up to the most badass people on a daily basis. Of course, she usually had back up. She had her boyfriend and partner, Detective Don Flack, both on and off the job. Out of the detectives at the Crime Lab, she worked with Mac Taylor, Danny Messer, and Stella Bonasera the most. She worked with Lindsey Monroe and Sheldon Hawkins on occasion. Either way, Jess felt like she had no need to worry about her safety: until now.

Jess sat on her couch, eating chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and reading a book. Don was out of town visiting family and he wasn't due back until next week, she missed him. She had a disaster of a day. A suspect pushed her off a subway platform. Now, she fresh bruises on her left arm, and back and she hit her head. Stella dragged her to the ER, afterwards. It also didn't help that her CO had been riding her all day over everything. She was half way through her book when she heard a loud banging at the door. "Jessica! Jessica, get out here, you stupid bitch!" she heard a male voice scream. Jess grabbed her gun from the coffee table in front of her and headed to the door. She looked through the peephole and gasped. When did this man get out of prison? "Jessica!" he continued banging.

Jess signed as she slowly opened the door. "What the..." she began, but she quickly cut off by a hard slap to the face. She stumbled backwards and held a hand to her cheek.

"You're going to pay for sending me to prison!" he yelled.

Jess, tearfully, nodded. "You sent yourself to prison!"

With that he pulled her by her wrists out of her apartment and pushed her up against the wall in the hall. He wrapped both of his hands around her neck and Jess froze. She looked into his eyes and saw nothing human staring back at her as he tightened his grip. Jess gasped for air in vain. Everything was getting fuzzy; she knew it wouldn't be long. She couldn't let this psycho beat her, not again. Finally, she remembered she was still holding her weapon. She pointed the gun at him and fired. The man yelled in pain and stepped away from Jess, releasing her. She slid to the ground, still gasping for air. The last thing she saw was the man running away, then her world went dark.

* * *

Don came back from his vacation early. Well, if you can call it a vacation. He had to listen to his dad complaining about everything he did, dealt with his dad and sister's constant fighting, and his grandmother bugging him to settle down and get married, while his dad chastised him for jeopardizing his career by dating his partner. He couldn't win. The only thing he wanted to do was go to Jess' apartment and hold her all night, but first, his friends at the crime lab wanted to take him for a couple drinks. They even offered to bring Jess along.

Don picked up his suitcase when he saw his ride. "Hey guys!" he greeted as he put his suitcase into the trunk of Mac's car.

"Hey Flack, how was your vacation?" Hawkes asked.

Don sighed. "I'm so happy to be home." He smiled, closing the trunk.

Lindsey laughed. "Was it that bad?" she asked.

"I'm never bringing Jess to see my dad." He answered.

"Why?" Mac asked.

Don groaned as he recalled his vacation. "I'm jeopardizing my career. Why am I such a disappointment. He didn't raise me to pick a whore over my career." He recited.

"No he didn't!" Lindsey gasped.

"Which is why I left." He paused. "Well, he may have needed a stitch or two in his face." Everyone laughed. Don looked around. He hadn't called Jess to tell her he was coming home early. He didn't want to tell her why he was coming home. He was embarrassed to even be blood related to his father.

"Kendall, Adam, and Sid are picking up Angell. They're supposed to drag her out, if necessary. Her day wasn't so good, so she might not want to go out." Stella informed him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Your CO's an ass and a suspect pushed her off a subway platform, she's bit sore." She said.

Don nodded and they all piled into two cars.

* * *

Kendall, Adam, and Sid were parked outside Jess' building. Kendall was in the driver's seat with Sid next to her and Adam behind Sid. Kendall was on her cell phone trying to get a hold of Jess. "Come on, Angell." She muttered. Jess didn't pick up. "Damn it, voicemail." She groaned. "Hey Angell, it's Kendall. You better be home because we're taking you out for drinks whether you like it or not. We're coming up." She hung and they exited the car.

Jess' apartment was on the second floor. They opened the door to the building, when a red liquid caught Kendall's eye: blood, but only drops. "Look." She pointed at it.

"Whoa, is that….." Adam began.

"Blood." Sid finished.

Kendall and Sid started followed following the trail. "Whatever happened, it happened up the stairs." Kendall observed. "Let's see where it starts." She began to walk up the stairs.

"Wait a second!" Adam called. Kendall stopped and turned to him. "We're not cops, maybe we should call Mac." He explained.

Kendall sighed. "Well, there's a cop on the second floor, we can run up and get her. Plus, Sid's a doctor, if someone is hurt up there he can help." She explained.

"I thought you said the blood was leading out the door." Adam questioned.

Kendall huffed. "Come on, Adam." She and Sid started to walk up the stairs, keeping their eyes on the blood trail.

"I don't have a good feeling about this." Adam muttered as he started to follow them.

Immediately after they got off the stairs, they spotted Jess' lifeless form on the ground leaning against the wall. They raced to her aid. Sid knelt down to check her neck for a pulse. She was still alive. "Kendall, call an ambulance. Adam, call Mac." Sid instructed.

Kendall immediately took out her phone, but Adam froze when he saw all the blood. "Is that hers?" he asked.

Sid checked her body for injuries. Other than the bruises on her cheek and neck and her earlier injuries, she had no open wounds. "It's not hers. She probably shot her attacker." He answered, nodding towards the gun that was still in Jess' hand. He gentle took it away from her and placed it on the floor. "Adam, call Mac." He repeated.

"Right." Adam nodded and pulled out her phone.

* * *

Don and Stella rode with Mac, and Lindsey and Hawkes rode with Danny. Mac's phone rang. "Taylor." He answered.

"_Mac!"_ he heard Adam's voice on the other end. _"Angell's been attacked and she's unconscious outside her door. Get here quick!"_ he rambled.

"We're on our way, Adam." He hung up. He turned on his siren as he sped up and abruptly, turned the car. Good thing they were all buckled. Mac looked in the rearview mirror and saw that Danny took a hint and did the same.

"Mac?" Stella inquired.

"Angell's been attacked." Mac answered.

"What?" Don asked. "Is she okay?"

"She's unconscious, that's all I know. Doesn't sound like anyone was around when it happened. Don't worry, Sid will take great care of her until the ambulance gets there." He assured him.

Flack sighed. Yes, he trust that Sid will make sure she's okay, but he was still worried. He should have been there.

* * *

By the time the got there, Jess was loaded onto a stretcher and was about to be loaded onto the ambulance. Everyone raced to her. "Angell?" Lindsey asked. She, Danny, and Hawkes weren't filled in on the situation before they got here.

"Jess!" Don said, taking her hand. "Jess, it's going to be okay." He whispered. Jess slowly opened her eyes. "It's okay." Don repeated. He looked to Mac. "I'm riding with her." He stated.

Mac nodded. "Go, we'll manage here." Mac insisted.

Everyone else met Kendall, Adam, and Sid by Jess' apartment. Lindsey gasped when she saw the blood. "Oh God."

"It's not hers." Sid assured them. "She had no open wounds, just bruises."

Danny nodded when he saw Jess' gun on the ground. "This is the attacker's blood."

"Let's hope this son of the bitch is in the system." Stella added, bitterly.

Mac sighed. Time to get down to business. "Okay, Danny, Angell was coming to when they were loading her in the ambulance. Go up to the hospital and see if she remembers what happened. Stella and Lindsey, start banging on doors. Kendall, take a blood sample and go back to the lab. Adam, dust for prints. Hawkes, take pictures. I'm going to collect evidence and look around Angell's apartment." All people named nodded and got to work. Mac turned to Sid. "Sid, there's nothing for you to do here, so just do whatever."

Sid nodded. "I'll go up to the hospital with Danny." With that said, he hurried to catch up with Danny.

Kendall bent down and took a swab a blood. "I'll get going." she said and left.

* * *

Don was waiting outside Jess' room while the doctors examined her. This wasn't how he pictured reuniting with her after a week of separation. He was personally going to kill the person responsible for doing this to her. Danny and Sid showed up and sat next to Don. "How's she doing?" Danny asked.

"She tried to tell me something in the ambulance, but the paramedic didn't want her talking. It looks like someone tried to strangle her." He informed him.

"Those were my thoughts." Sid explained.

"Up close and personal." Danny patted his back. "You know she's going to be alright. We'll find the bastard. Angell helped us out." Danny informed him.

Don raised an eyebrow. "How so?" he asked.

Danny smiled. "She shot him."

"Good." He paused. "I'm trying to think about whether she told me about any threats made against her. I can't think of any."

"You think she'd tell you if someone did?" Danny asked.

Don chuckled. "Probably not."

* * *

Hawkes was taking pictures of the scene. He took a picture of Jess' gun on the ground before Mac put it in a bag. He took a picture of the blood on the floor and the wall opposite of where Jess was found. Also in the wall was a bullet hole. "Mac, got a bullet." He called as he snapped a picture it.

Mac walked over with a pair of tweezers to dig it out. "Nine millimeter." He said, holding the bullet. He put it into an evidence jar and walked away.

He walked into Jess' apartment. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. The kitchen was clean, other than the dishes needing to be done. The living room was basically spotless, other than the jacket Jess wore earlier that day was on the floor in front of the couch. A bowl of melted ice cream, a book, and her badge were on the coffee table. Mac went into the bedroom and saw that the bed was unmade and some of her clothes were on the floor around the laundry basket. Mac smiled and nodded as he turned to leave.

* * *

"You here for Jessica Angell?" a middle aged doctor came out and asked.

Don and Danny stood up. Sid had gone for coffee. "Yea." Don began. "I'm Detective Don Flack, her boyfriend, and this is Detective Danny Messer, a friend." Don introduced. "How's Jess?"

"Well, she'll survive. She had injuries from earlier; I treated her then, too. But other than she has bruised cheekbone. Someone hit her with great force. Also, she has bruises around her neck. Someone tried to strangle her." The doctor informed them.

Danny nodded. "I need to photograph her injuries and talk to her about what happened. Can we see her?" he asked.

The doctor nodded. "Go on in. She's awake, alert, and asking for Detective Flack."

Don and Danny nodded and entered Jess' room.

* * *

Kendall matched the blood type: B negative, a rare blood type. She was running the DNA from the blood through the system. Maybe she'd get lucky and he's in the system. With nothing else to do, Kendall just sat there to wait for a match. She turned her head to search for her cell phone when she heard a beep. _That was very fast._ She thought. She looked at the profile for the match. Her eyes widened. _Gotta call Mac. _She picked up her phone.

* * *

Stella and Lindsey got back from their canvass of Jess' building. "Well, we got squat. Nobody heard anything." Stella told him.

"What'd you expect?" he asked.

"Nothing, really." Said Lindsey.

Mac nodded as he heard his phone "Taylor."

"_Mac, I got a match on the DNA from the blood."_

"Already?" He asked.

_"Well, he's a recently paroled, registered sex offender. His name is Justin Burke and he was convicted in 1998 for the 1997 kidnapping , rape, and assault of….."_

_**A/n: well doesn't take a genius to figure out the victim in that case. Lol. What do you think?**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/n: I really was not expecting that many reviews on the first chapter. You guys rock! That first review was me on my other account. I haven't been getting alerts from here for close to a month, so I reviewed to see if the problem was fixed….it wasn;t! Oh well, I'll stop rambling and get on with the story now.**_

_**Disclaimer is in the first chapter. What's the point to that anyways? If any of us really owned any of these shows, do they think we'd be writing them on here? Lol**_

_"Well, he got paroled last week. His name is Justin Burke and he was convicted in 1998 for the 1997 kidnapping , rape, and assault of….."_ Kendall started.

Mac sighed. "Of who Kendall?" he asked.

_"Of Jessica Angell."_

"Mac, what's up?" Stella asked, trying to get Mac's attention.

"How old was Angell when this happened?" he asked.

"_Hold on." _She paused. _"Sixteen. Burke was nineteen."_

"Damn, how long was she missing?"

_"Three days. He lives at 31 Park Street, Brooklyn."_

"Okay, got it." He said, writing the address down. "Thanks, Kendall." He hung up.

"We have a suspect?" Stella asked.

"Yes, a suspect with a history with Angell." He answered.

"What kind of history?" Lindsey asked.

"Fill you in on the way. Call Danny and tell him to meet us at 31 Park Street in Brooklyn." He ordered as he walked off. Stella and Lindsey quickly followed.

* * *

Jess was sitting up after the doctor left her. She everything came back to her at once. She remembered him banging at the door and him trying to strangle her. Did she shoot him? She didn't remember. Flashbacks of what he did to her thirteen years ago came rushing back to her, as well. It was too much. She took a deep breath and calmed herself as Don and Danny walked in. "Shouldn't you be resting?" Don asked.

"Don, I was strangled, not beaten half to death." She reminded him.

"I like how you take that lightly." Danny said. Jess glared, so he backed off. Even injured Jess was scary. "I need to photograph your injuries." He said, lifting his camera.

Jess nodded. "I know." She reminded him.

Danny took two pictures of the very dark bruise on her left cheek. It made her face look pale. He took four picture of her neck: two of the right side and two of the left. The bruises on her neck weren't as dark as the one on her cheek.

After he was done, he stepped back to let Don next to her. Don wrapped his arms around Jess. She pulled him by his collar of his shirt down to her until his lips met hers. He kissed her softly before pulling away. "You scared me, Jess."

Jess rested her head on Don's chest. "I'm sorry."

Don ran his head up and down her hair. "It's not your fault."

As much as Danny hated to ruin the moment, it was time to asked Jess what happened. "Angell, do you know who did this to you?" he asked.

Don and Jess pulled apart, but Jess held on to Don's hand. "Justin Burke." She answered. Burke looked a bit older, but she'd never forget his face.

Danny wrote down the name. "And how do you know him?"

Jess sighed, "He raped me when I was sixteen." She felt Don tighten his grip on her hand. He was at a loss for words.

"Did you ever report this to anyone." Danny asked.

Jess nodded. "Why do you think he came banging at my door thirteen years later?" she snapped.

"Angell, please." Danny whispered.

"Sorry." She paused. "He got ten years for kidnapping and raping me. Last I checked, he got ten more years for killing another inmate. I wasn't expecting him to be paroled until atleast 2018." She paused, again, trying to keep herself calm. "He showed up at my door wanting revenge."

Danny continued writing. "Okay, I'm going to see if I can find his parole officer. I also want to find out why you weren't notified that he was up for parole."

"I'd like to know that, too." Don said as he pulled Jess back into his arms. "Why didn't you tell me about this, Jess?" he asked.

Jess looked up at him. "It was thirteen years ago, Don. It's not exactly something I like to think about. Besides, I moved on. Or that's atleast what I told myself." She answered. Don kissed her forehead. "Can we go now?"

Don sighed. He was waiting for that one. "Don't you think your doctor would want you to stay over night?"

Jess gently pushed him away. "You know me better than that. I've already here twice today."

Danny chuckled. It didn't take her long to bounce back. His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. "Messer." He greeted. "Hey Montana, Angell gave me a name." He paused. "Okay, you already have it." He paused, again. "Repeat that." He directed. He was using his shoulder to hold the phone to his ear as he wrote down whatever Lindsey was telling him. "I'm on my way" He hung up and looked to Don and Jess. "I have to go." He turned and left.

"I'll be back." Don said. Jess nodded as he left. "Danny!" he called out in the hall.

Danny turned around and walked back to him. "Look, Don, I don't have time…."

"You have an address?" Don cut him off.

Danny nodded. "Yes." He should have lied.

"I'm coming with you." He said as he tried to push past him.

Danny stopped him. "No, Don."

"Look, Danny, I want to catch this guy."

"I know you do." Danny assured him. "Angell needs you right know. Don't leave her."

Don knew he was right. He couldn't abandon Jess right now. "Alright." He surrendered.

Danny nodded. "Take care of her." He ordered as he left.

Don chuckled, like Jess would let anyone take care of her.

* * *

Danny met Mac, Stella, and Lindsey in front of a small house in Brooklyn. Mac, Stella, and Lindsey had their vest on and were ready to go. Danny popped his trunk to retrieve his. Once he had it on they went to the door. Mac looked up and down the door. He noticed blood on the doorknob and on the door, itself. Now they knew they were in the right place. "Justin Burke, NYPD!" Mac yelled as he banged on the door. No answer. "NYPD!" he tried again. Once again, nothing. Mac turned the doorknob and was surprised to find it unlocked. He nodded to everyone as he slowly opened the door. Mac went in first, followed closely by Stella, then Lindsey, and last was Danny. He looked at the bloody light switch. He looked at the open cabinet, which also had blood on it. But Burke was not in the bathroom. "Clear!"

Danny searched through the living room: Nothing. "Clear!"

Stella went through the kitchen and the dining room: Nothing. "Clear!"

Lindsey went into Burke's bedroom. What she saw made her jaw drop. "You guys better come see this." She called.

Everyone entered behind her. They looked at the wall Lindsey was looking at. Burke had dozens of pictures of Jess at different crimes scenes, pictures of her chasing down a suspect, pictures of her in her car, pictures of her walking down a street, pictures of her saying good bye to Don at the train station, and even pictures of her in her apartment. "How long has he been on parole?" Stella asked.

"Ten days." Mac answered.

"Yeah, well, looks like he put those ten days to good use." Danny, sarcastically, pointed out.

Lindsey sighed. "So where is Burke?" she looked to Mac.

"I don't know, but he was here. We need to keep an eye on Angell." Mac said.

"She's going to love that. She's already making Don bring her to his place." Danny pointed out.

"Well, I don't care what she likes." Mac began. "He's been following her around for over a week and nobody's noticed."

Stella nodded and turned around. "Whoa, there's more." She moved closer to a small group of newspaper clippings on the opposite wall. Everyone joined her. Stella started to skimmed through some of them. "Angell's mentioned in these."

Danny sighed. "Tell me we have a warrant." He knew without one, they wouldn't be able to add stalking to the attempted murder charge.

"I requested one on the way here." Mac told him.

* * *

She shot him in his left shoulder; it was a through and through. Stupid Bitch. Lucky for him, he prepared for the worst. After a quick visit to his house, he stood in an abandoned building next to a mirror, nursing his wound. He dumped some liquid rubbing alcohol on both the entrance wound and the exit wound. He winced in pain. Oh man that bitch was really going to pay. She was going to suffer for the pain she caused him. He, carefully, bandaged himself up. He struggled to bandage the back of his shoulder, but the mirror helped him see what he was doing. He sat down on the ground. He knew it would take atleast a month for him to heal, if Jess didn't cause any major damage. That was okay, though. He had a month to plan his revenge. He was going to make Jessica Angell suffer if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

Since neither of them had a car, so Don and Jess took a cab back to Don's apartment. Neither of them could wait to get home and crash for the night. Sitting in the cab, Jess rested in Don's embrace. Don could have lost her today. He shuddered at the thought. Jess fell asleep, quickly, it was a shame that he had wake her. As the cab pulled up in front of Don's apartment building, Don gently shook her awake. Don paid the cabbie and they exited the cab.

Don's apartment was on the third floor. Usually, neither of them minded taking the stairs, but tonight they were both physically and mentally exhausted. They took the elevator instead. Once inside the apartment, they went straight into Don's bedroom. Don stripped down to his boxers. Jess changed out of the scrubs that the nurse gave her at the hospital and into a black t-shirt of Don's. They both laid down in bed. Don pulled Jess close and Jess rested her head on Don's chest. "Captain wants you to take the rest of the week off." He informed her.

"Figured." She mumbled.

"I want you to take it, too." He whispered. He held her tighter. "I still have to rest of the week…."

"I don't need a babysitter, Don." She cut him off. She knew exactly where he was going with this.

"Jess, look at me." he instructed. Jess picked her head up. He pulled her closer until their lips collided. It didn't take long for their kiss to grow more passionate as Jess opened her mouth to let Don's tongue through. When they pulled apart, their eyes met. "I love you and I almost lost you. You may call it babysitting, but I call it trying to keep you safe."

She couldn't argue with that. "I'm sorry, Don. I love you, too." With that, Jess laid back down. As much as she wanted to, Jess knew she wasn't getting much sleep tonight. She'd never admit this to Don or even to herself, but she was scared.

* * *

All the evidence was collected and at the crime lab. It was now three-thirty in the morning, so Mac sent everyone home. Danny and Lindsey paid their babysitter extra for staying so much later than usual. Husband and wife both went to check on their one-year-old daughter, Lucy. The blonde toddler was sleeping peacefully in her crib. After standing there watching Lucy for another five minutes, Danny and Lindsey went to bed.

* * *

Burke knew that he couldn't go home; that place would be crawling with cops by now. But he still needed a place to crash for a while. He knew exactly who to turn to. He knocked on an apartment door. He smiled as the door opened. "Hey, Buddy, I need a place to crash."

_**A/N: okay, as for mushy scenes, that kiss was as good as it's gonna get.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: this will definitely be the last chapter for atleast a few weeks. Idk when I'll be back. On the plus side, when I do come back, I should have a few more chapters written . I'm still trying to decide how long this story will be.**_

_**Also, if anyone reads my NCIS OC series, should be posting one more story for that, for now. My last story as terrible in my opinion….oh well, I'll stop rambling now.**_

_**WARNING: This chapter is going into what happened to Jess in 1997, but I will NOT go into detail when it comes to her being raped.**_

Jess got no sleep that night. Don didn't get much sleep, either. Jess looked over at Don sleeping peacefully. She smiled for the first time in hours. She gently untangled herself from Don and walked into the bathroom for a shower. A hot shower always relaxed her. She didn't have a chance to shower last night, Don wouldn't let go of her long enough. She needed to clear her mind of Justin Burke, but found that to be impossible. Why was he out? Why didn't anyone tell her? She told herself that she wasn't scared of him anymore. She had gone years without even thinking about him after years of hiding in her room. Now, he's out of prison and she has to face him, again. She doesn't know how to feel. Should she run and hide? Should she fight? Everything about Burke made her made so confused.

After a few minutes of just standing there and letting the water hit her body, she jumped as she felt strong arms wrap around her waist. "Just me." Don whispered, instantly calming her. He leaned down to kiss her bruised neck before she turned around and rested her head on his chest. For the first time since Burke showed up, Jess let tears fall.

Fifteen minutes later, Jess and Don were fully clothed on the couch. Jess relaxed in Don's embrace. He ran his hand down Jess' damp hair. Jess let out a sigh. "He asked me out a on date?"

"Burke?" Don asked.

"Mmhm." She answered.

"Jess, you don't have to talk about it if you're not ready." He assured her.

She ignored him. "My dad didn't want me going alone, but I told him I'd be fine."

_1997:_

_Jess had never been on a date, not a real one, anyway. Her father, Cliff had a rule: no going on dates unless one of her older brothers were with her. With the help of her best friend, Mindy, she convinced her very protective father to let her go solo. Of course, they the left out the part that Justin Burke was nineteen. But they were only going bowling, how much harm can come from that? Mindy and Jess were up in Jess' room going through her closet. "You have to wear this!" Mindy said, taking out a black mini skirt._

"_Mindy, we're going bowling, plus my dad would never let me out of the house wearing that on a date." Jess explained. He never let her go out in that period._

_Mindy shrugged. "So put it on when you leave." She laughed._

_Jess nodded. "Not wearing that on a first date."_

_Mindy playfully stuck out her tongue. "You're no fun. Well, then can I borrow 'em? I have a date tomorrow."_

"_Sure, keep them." Jess smiled and walked over to her dresser. "What about these?" she asked, pulling out a pair of glittery jeans._

_Mindy walked over and took them from her. "And why haven't I seen you in these?" she asked, looking them over._

"_Never felt like wearing them." She answered._

"_How long have you had these?"_

"_Dad got them for me for my birthday"_

_Mindy nodded. "Wear 'em." She gave them back._

_Jess and Mindy walked down stairs to show Cliff what they had decided on. Other than the jeans, Jess had on a black tank top with a black and white light jacket: Cliff approved. Jess decided to keep her long curly hair down. Mindy decided to leave. "Call me later and tell me everything." She said as she left._

_

* * *

_

_Jess and Burke play three full games so far: Jess won two games and Burke won one. They were five frames in their fourth game when Burke went to get them sodas. It was Jess' turn to bowl. She knocked down five pins on her first try and four more on her second. _So close._ Burke came back with their drinks. "You're turn." She informed him, taking the Pepsi he was handing her. Sipping her drink, she watched as he bowled a strike. "Nice." She smiled._

_Burke bowed. "Thank you." Jess giggled as she went to grab a ball._

_They finished their game and Burke won. They decided to call it even and leave. Jess had to be home by ten. As they walked to Burke's Jeep, Jess started to sway. She dropped to the ground. The earth was moving; she didn't understand what was happening. She tried to speak, but she was too tired. Burke bent down to pick her up as she drifted off._

_

* * *

_

_Jess opened her eyes and didn't recognize her surroundings. She definitely wasn't home. She tried to move her arms, but couldn't. She looked up as much as she could and saw her wrists tied to the headboard of the bed. She looked down and realized that she was naked. Jess began to panic as she tried to wiggle out of the rope. Burke walked in as she did. He ran his hand over her body. "Don't hurt yourself, Jess." He said, calmly._

"_What the hell, Justin." She yelled._

"_We're going to have some fun." He smirked._

_Again, Jess tried to free herself from the rope. "This isn't funny, now untie me and take me home!" she demanded._

_Burke laughed. "Now, what fun would that be?" he taunted._

_She watched in fear as Burke started to strip. _This can't be happening. _Once he climbed on top of her, she started to fight as best she could. Her feet weren't tied so she kicked at him. Burke easily over powered her. He punched her in the face and chest and kneed her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She closed her eyes as tears flowed freely down her face. She realized that there was no way she could win._

_

* * *

_

_Cliff was worried. It was eight in the morning and his daughter was nowhere to be found. He went to wake up John, the only older brother that still lived at home, to see if he had heard from Jess: he hadn't. Cliff called Mindy to see if Jess was there: she wasn't nor has Mindy heard from her. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong. Cliff called his other three sons, Mark, Jeff, and Reed: they didn't know anything either. Cliff, John, and Mindy searched the neighborhood. Mindy called all their other friends. She gave John a list of Jess' favorite hangouts. Cliff went door-to-door asking neighbors if they had seen Jess. Nobody had seen her. Nobody had Burke's phone number or knew where he lived. Mindy and John hung around the diner that they met Burke at, hoping he'd come in. When noon rolled around, Cliff went to the bowling alley to see if the employees remembered seeing Jess or Burke. They employees from the late shift didn't start until six at the earliest and the manager refused to call them up. Cliff was mad. Around two they still had no answers. John and Mindy met Cliff at home. By then, the rest of the Angell's brothers showed up. Cliff decided that it was time to call his colleagues at the Brooklyn PD. The detectives responded, quickly. They took statement from everybody. Cliff gave him a recent picture of Jess. When asked if it was possible that Jess just ran away they all answered no at the same time. Mindy said that Jess would have told her; they weren't best friends for nothing. The cops nodded and left the room to start a search of their own. They started in Jess' bedroom._

_

* * *

_

_Jess was shaking with fear. She didn't feel the injuries Burke inflicted on her body. She felt numb. Tears fell slow and steady down her face. Her arms were still tied and she was still naked. Her body was bruised and cut. Burke had not been gentle with her. Justin left the house when he was finished with her. "Help!" she yelled. "Someone, please help me!" she screamed. She continued screaming for close to ten minutes. No one heard her; no one was coming to her rescue. She broke down into sobs; she just wanted to go home._

_

* * *

_

_Burke didn't want anyone to suspect him of anything, so he continued his daily routine. He had everything planned out. He even had a cover story if the police came to him with questions. He attended his summer classes at his college. Police met him there. "We understand you were on a date with Jessica Angell last night?" Detective Michaels asked._

_Burke nodded. "We went bowling at Zu's Lines." He answered._

"_Are you aware that she didn't make it home?"_

"_We had a fight and she ran from the car. I assumed she called her dad to come get her." He told them._

"_So you just let her go?"_

"_Yeah."_

_Michaels sighed. "Why did you fight?"_

"_After we got done bowling, we went back to my car. We began making out and when I put my hand up her shirt, she slapped me." he recited. He had practiced telling this story over and over._

_Michaels wrote this piece of information down. "Do you know that she's sixteen?" he asked._

_Burke nodded. "Yes."_

"_Do you know that the age of consent in the state of New York is seventeen?"_

"_Yes, but we did not have sex, therefore I did not break any laws."_

_Michaels knew he was right. He stood up. "By the way, who won bowling?"_

"_We tied. She won two and I won two."_

_Michaels nodded and left. Burke smirked; the dumb cop bought it. _

_

* * *

_

_Cliff knew the drill; he recited it millions of times to families. First day, wait by the phone, incase Jess calls. The police will go around questioning people. The second day, they were free to hand out flyers and conduct their own searches. Cliff prayed to God that there wouldn't be a second day. He hoped that Jess was coming home today and tell him that she was okay. He needed to know that his little girl was okay. The phone was ringing off the hook, but none of them were Jess. Aunts, uncles, grandparents, and close friends gathered at the Angell household. They waited for news together. John looked around the living room searching for Mindy. She wasn't with them. John quietly exited the living room to find her. He found her in Jess' room, lying on her bed. "Mindy." John whispered._

_Mindy sat up and looked at him. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. "I shouldn't have helped her convince your dad to let her go alone." She sobbed._

_John walked over and gathered her in his arms. "Not your fault."_

"_What if Justin did something to her. I introduced them to each other." She continued sobbing._

"_Well, according to Justin, he let her run off after they argued. Whether he's lying or not, he's a doucebag. He should have made sure she got home." He told her._

"_She's coming home, right? I mean she's going to come home alive and not in a body bag."_

_John nodded. "I hope so." He was never one to beat around the bush or lie to comfort someone._

_

* * *

_

_He was asleep next to her. He had his arms around her and a blanket over them. He feel asleep a few hours ago, but not before raping her again. She hurt everywhere. She felt like he was burning a hole through her where he was touching her. She was afraid to move even a little bit. She didn't want him to wake up and start hurting her again. She wondered if he was going to let her go anytime soon or at all. She wanted this nightmare to end. Was it going to end? More to the point, did he have any intension of letting her go home alive? Those questions would go unanswered because she was too scared to ask them._

_

* * *

_

_Mindy spent the night in Jess' room. She spent all night designing missing flyers to hang up. She made a few different ones, she just needed a copy machine to make copies. Never in her life, did she think that she'd ever be making missing posters for her best friend. She looked at one of the pictures. Jess was smiling, she and Mindy was just pulled a prank on John. They both ran back up to Jess' room, laughing. Mindy had her camera and snapped a picture. Mindy smiled at the moment. Jess was coming home, she just had to._

_

* * *

_

_It had been three days since Jess disappeared. Burke walked around Brooklyn and saw Jess' missing flyers hanging everywhere. He panicked and started ripping down flyers. After ripping down about ten of them, Burke threw them in a near by trash can and went on his way._

_

* * *

_

_Detective Michaels and his partner, Detective Wells, were sitting at their desks reviewing evidence. It seemed like Jessica Angell simply dropped off the face of the earth. "How's the family holding up?" Wells asked._

_His partner nodded. "Angell hasn't slept since his daughter disappeared. His sons and Mindy spent every night with him until last night. Mindy's parents wanted her home and the older Angell boys have jobs. It's just him and John at home." He answered._

"_Mindy's the best friend?"_

_Michaels nodded._

"_Do we believe this Justin Burke guy?"_

_Michaels shrugged. "I don't know. He seems kind of shady, but I'm waiting for the surveillance tapes from the bowling alley to get here. The damn manager made us wait for a warrant." _

_On cue, an officer walked over. "This just came for you detectives." He said, handing a package over to the detectives._

"_Thanks." Wells said. The officer nodded and walked away._

_Michaels opened up the package and the tape was in there. "Let's go watch it." _

_They walked into the break room and put the tape into the VCR. They watched Jess and Burke leave the bowling alley. They watched Jess pass out in the parking lot. They watched Burke pick her up and put her in the back seat of his jeep. They needed to bring Justin Burke in. "Lets get this asshole."_

_

* * *

_

_Jess was so sore. Since Burke kidnapped her, he had raped and beat her multiple times. He beat her extra if she fought back or begged him to stop. Yesterday, she spit in his face. He proceeded to beat her until she lost consciousness. She was beginning to wonder if fight was worth it. Everytime he left the house, she screamed and cried for help: no one heard her. She was alone. She stopped crying a while ago. She had no more tears to cry. Burke hasn't fed her or given her water since there date. Jess was feeling weak. The once stubborn girl was starting to give up hope of rescue. Atleast until she heard the noise that brought hope back to her. She heard someone banging at the door. "Justin Burke, police open up!" _

_Jess knew that this was her chance. "Help!" she screamed as loud as she could. "Please, help me!"_

_She heard a loud bang and people entering the house. "Jessica, are you in here?" she heard a man's voice called._

"_I'm here!" she called back. _

_Michaels and Wells entered the bedroom and flinched at the sight of Jess. "Eric, call a bus." Michaels ordered. He went and untied Jess. Jess slowly sat up and pulled the blanket over her. She was shaking, but she knew that she was safe now._

_Cliff and John rushed to St. Catherine's Medical Center to see Jess. She was done with the questioning and all the exams. She wanted them all done as quick as possible so she could go home, but the doctors wanted her to stay over night. Cliff carefully put his arms around her and Jess held on for dear life._

Present day:

"After that, I didn't leave my room much for almost a year and I didn't go on another date for three years." She concluded. She felt Don's grip tighten around her.

He kissed the top of her head. "I'm not going to let him hurt you, again." He vowed. "Never.

Jess smiled. "I know, Don."

Don gently pushed Jess over so he could get up. "Let's have breakfast."

Jess nodded. "I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat something, Jess."

"Okay, okay."

_**A/N: idk where Jess is actually from, so I'm going with Brooklyn. Well, I will be gone for a while, but I'll have more chapters for you when I get back. Sorry, didn't have time to proof read. Catch ya later!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Spoilers: Commuted Sentences and Rush to Judgement, but only a little. **_

_**A/N: Heyy everybody! Thanks soo much for the reviews. I have internet again! Well, I meant to have one than one chapter written for you guys, but due to job hunting and a bit of writers block this is all I got. Thats kinda frustrating, because I know exactly where I want this story to go. I've had the last few chapters planned out before I finished writing the first chapter. I just need the stuff in between. Any ideas? I know Mindy is coming into the mix somewhere and I plan on killing people. Another reason is that, I've come up with another story for CSI NY….Damn short attention span. I'll post the summary to that below and you can give you're opinions. It will have nothing to do with this story or the NCIS and One Life to Live stories. I kinda changed history in this one. Not posting the story until AFTER I finish this one….Anyway, On with the story, sry it took so long.**_

After telling her story, Jess fell asleep on Don's arms. Don loosened his hold on her, but he didn't want to let her go. He needed to find a way to keep her safe. He needed to get Burke off the streets and away from Jess. Maybe, they'll go away for a few days. Would Jess agree to that? Don sat there lost in thought for a few minutes until he felt Jess stir in his arms. Carefully, Don lifted Jess into his arms and carried her to his room. Together, they laid on the bed. Don had his arms wrapped protectively around his girlfriend and he slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The CSIs started working on finding Burke early that morning. No one tries to kill one of their own and gets away with it, Mac and the team would make sure of it. Mac looked through his prison record. Burke was a violent man. He was in fights lot in his twelve years in prison. That didn't put anyone's mind at ease when it came to Jess' safety. They didn't know his condition after being shot, so that didn't put their minds at ease, either.

Hawkes was looking at photos of Burke's house and the hallway outside Jess' apartment. He looked at the blood spatter in both places. He concluded that after Jess shot Burke, he walked back up the hall, down the stairs, and out the front door. After leaving Jess' apartment, Burke, somehow, made it to his house in Brooklyn, grabbed something from the bathroom, and left. There were two things they needed to figure out. One, how did he get from Jess' apartment in the city to his house in Brooklyn? Two, where is he now? The distance between where Jess was located in the city to Brooklyn was too far to walk especially with a gunshot wound. Hawkes doubted that he took a train or a bus. There were too many people around to call an ambulance for him. No hospitals reported a gunshot victim last night or this morning. If he had taken a cab, wouldn't the cab driver notice if he picked up a man with a gunshot wound? After he was finished, he was going to call all cab companies. He, also, needed to check out security cameras in train stations, subways, and buses, just incase. On a hunch, Hawkes moved over to the computer to check and see if there were and reports on stolen cars within five miles of Burke's house or Jess' apartment. He sighed in frustration as the search came up empty. No cars rented in his name, either. One way or another, Burke made his way around without being seen. If Hawkes could figure out how Burke got around then he could tell the team what to look for. _Time to make calls,_ he thought as he picked up the phone.

* * *

Mac and Lindsey were in Brooklyn in Burke's house. The only place Burke was known to be after he attacked Jess was the bathroom. After he put gloves on, Mac opened the cabinet door, under the sink. He needed to think about what was in here. What do people keep in bathroom cabinets? Shampoo, conditioner or soap? No, Burke was just shot after assaulting an officer; he most likely wasn't concerned about his own cleanliness. What a minute, Burke was shot. People keep first aid kits in bathroom cabinets. Now that Mac most likely figured out the what, it was time to figure out the where. Where the hell did Burke go?

Lindsey looked around Burke's room in disgust. Some of the pictures of Jess were close ups. Burke had to be really smart to get so close to a cop without her knowing. He must have learned a few things in prison. Lindsey took the time to examine the photos more closely, maybe she could put a date and time to each one. She doubted she could on the picture of her off the job. Lindsey didn't see Jess much off the job. None of the team did. Flack would go with them to bars, but no one would think to invite Jess. Only Don called her by her first name. She was Angell to everyone else. Lindsey liked Jess' last name, though. Anyone that didn't know her wouldn't think of Angell as her last name. Lindsey continued to look at the photos. She found one she was in with her, along with Danny, Hawkes, and a woman's body. Wait a minute; Lindsey remembered this crimes scene. They were on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and that body was Joanna Morgan. "Mac, get in here." She called.

Mac, quickly, entered the room. "What's up?" he asked.

"Burke didn't take some of these photos." She informed him. She pointed at the picture at the museum. "That photo was taken close to three years ago. Remember, Joanna Morgan and Amber Stanton?"

Mac sighed. How could he forget? "Burke has an accomplice."

Lindsey nodded. "And he or she has been following Angell around for a while."

* * *

Stella and Danny walked around Burke's neighborhood. Danny knocked on one his neighbors. An elderly woman, probably in her late 70s to early 80s, answered the door. "Can I help you?" the woman asked, in a small, shaky voice.

"Yes, Ma'am," Stella began. "We're looking for you're neighbor, Justin Burke." She said.

"He is not welcome in my home." The woman hissed.

"Is he known to cause problems?" Danny asked.

"Him and his friend are loud, rowdy, and irresponsible. I don't want me great-grandchildren exposed to that." She replied.

"Wait, what friend?" Danny asked.

"I don't know his name, but my granddaughter doesn't let the children outside when he's there." The woman replied.

"You live with children?" Stella asked.

"Three great-grandchildren." She answered.

Stella nodded. "Okay, thank you." They turned to leave as the woman closed the door. "Terms of Burke's parole was he wasn't allowed any contact with minors." Stella said.

"Yea, he's not allowed to live this close to them, either." Danny responded. "What I want to know is, how does a man, who is known to be violent, end up living by himself instead of a half way house or staying behind bar?"

Stella nodded. They continued their canvass of the neighborhood. They basically got the same response from the rest of the neighborhood as they got from the old lady. Burke was mean, loud, and a creep. They all wanted him out of their neighborhood. None of them, on the other hand, knew he was a registered sex offender on parole. Obviously, law enforcement ignored Megan's Law. Megan's Law states that law enforcement make a community with children aware that a registered sex offender has moved near them. Stella took her cell phone out of her pocket as she heard it ringing. "Yes, Mac." She answered. "On our way." She hung up and turned to Danny. "Mac and Lindsey need us back at Burke's"

* * *

Stella and Danny met Lindsey and Mac in Burke's bedroom. "What's up?" Stella asked.

"Look at this picture." Lindsey instructed, pointing at the picture from the Museum.

They moved closer for a better look. "Son of a bitch!" Danny shouted.

"And this." She pointed of a picture of Don and Jess bringing in Todd Flemming.

"These were taken before Burke was released from prison." Stella pointed out.

"Exactly, we have more than one person following Angell." Mac said.

"Oh, shit." Danny said.

* * *

They all made it back to the Lab. "How's it going, Hawkes?" Mac asked.

"Well, I called all cab companies, no one picked up anyone from Angell's apartment or Burke's place. They are talking to their drivers to see if they picked up anyone injured." He informed them.

"So they're cooperating." Stella said.

Hawkes nodded. "Yes, but the other means for transportation is making me get a warrant before I look at their cameras. I called Benton for a warrant." He said.

They all nodded. Benton liked Angell. He trained her after she was promoted to detective, he'd do what he can to help her. "Mac, I'm having a sketch artist go to Burke's neighbor. Maybe this friend is our unidentified stalker." Danny said.

Mac nodded. "Yea, go ahead." He said.

Danny walked from the room. "Unidentified stalker?" Hawkes asked.

"We found pictures from before Burke was released from prison, like years before." Lindsey answered.

Hawkes sighed and went to answer his ringing cell phone.

* * *

Jess was awake and sitting on Don's couch. Don was still sleeping last she checked. Usually, it was Don up before her, but certain events made it hard to stay asleep. Jess sat there thinking about Burke. She decided that she wasn't going to hide. She was going to fight back with everything she had. She wasn't going to let him destroy her, again. She was not sixteen years old anymore. She was a twenty-nine year old Homicide Detective and she was perfectly capable of defending herself. He will not break her, again; she won't let him. Jess' super from her building dropped her mail off. Jess was going through it. Most of the mail was junk except for one. She opened and read it. "You have got to be kidding me."

"What." Don asked as he came out of his bedroom and joined her on the couch.

"Dear Detective Jessica Angell: we are writing you to inform you that Justin Burke was recently paroled." She read. "Thank you so much, Parole Board. Do you think you could have informed me before he attacked me!"

Don took the letter from her and read it. "We'll file a complaint with them."

Jess nodded.

Don sighed. "Jess, I was thinking. We're both off this week, lets take a vacation."

Jess shrugged. "I don't want him running my life. I can't run and hide just because he's out there." She protested.

"You're not, Jess." Don assured her. "I just thought that you and I could spend some alone time. How about the Hamptons?" he asked, with a hopeful smile.

"I don't know, Don. Remember what happened to Danny and Lindsey?" she said.

"It will be fine." He said.

"Okay, but on one condition." She said.

"Shoot." He challenged.

"When we get back, you stop this macho protection mode you're in. I still have my life to live." She told him.

Don sighed. "Move in with me and we have a deal." He said.

"Don," she started.

"Jess, he knows where you live. The least you can do is move out of that apartment. There is a difference between not letting him run your life and stupidity. Staying there, knowing he knows where you live and knowing he could come back, is stupid." Don said.

Jess locked her eyes with his. "You serious about this?" she asked.

Don nodded. "Yes, I love you, please move in with me."

Jess leaned over and kissed him. "Okay, after we get back."

Don smiled and pulled her into his arms.

* * *

A man watched them from an apartment across the street. He had his camera and snapped a few pictures. He watched as Don and Jess made out on his couch. He was amused at how unaware they both were of his presence.

_**A/N: okay, that's it. Hope you liked it.**_

_**Okay the new story that will be post after this story is a CSI NY/NCIS/One life to live crossover. Idk why I added OLTL in, I just did. Its AU because in CSI NY, Jess and Aiden both are alive, in NCIS Jenny is alive and in OLTL, Talia is alive. Okay…Summary:**_

_**After funding is lost, the NYPD and Crime lab end up with a twenty-five percent pay cut. When nothing is done to fix it, most of the NYPD and Crime Lab end up on strike. Now Jess, Mac, Martinez, Benton, and other cops not going along with the strike try to keep the streets of New York safe, while keeping themselves alive. But when ruthless serial killers come and target Jess, the Detectives find both tasks hard. Knowing they don't have enough man power to help with the serial killers, Jess calls two good friends, no longer with the NYPD, for help. Can they stop these murderers before more people die?**_

_**What do you think? Yes? No? Maybe?**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: I went through and edited all the stupid little mistakes I made through out the story. I tend to leave out words or add letters to word that don't belong. Then after reading through chapter one that Sid went to the hospital with Danny and vanished into thin air. Oops, well, I fixed it. I had this chapter written a couple days ago, but I didn't like it at all. I ended up trashing it and starting fresh. Hope you like it**_

Jess was hoping for a fun and relaxing vacation, but what she got was a freaked out, always looking over her shoulder vacation. She told herself that she wasn't going to live her life afraid, but that was before Mac called and told her and Don that she had more than one person watching her. Burke had been planning his revenge for years. The earliest picture the CSIs found was taken about three years ago. Burke had someone following her for three years and she didn't notice. How can she be so observant when it came to a case, but unobservant when it came to her own safety? Luckily, it was a weekday in October, so there weren't many tourist and citiots, like herself and Don, walking around with cameras. That made it so much easier to figure out if Jess' other stalker followed them to the Hamptons.

Don was in the same boat as Jess. He'd been dating her for nearly two years and had been her partner for close to three years. How could he not have noticed someone following her? He was supposed to have her back on and off the job and this time he didn't. He knew that beating himself up won't help now, but he felt like he failed Jess. The whole time in the Hamptons, Don kept his eyes on Jess. She rarely left his sight. He would like to keep his eyes on her when they got home, but they would be going back to work and they don't always work the same cases.

As much as they hated it, they had to go home, sometime. Once they got back they decided to crash for a couple hours before heading to Jess' apartment. They ended up sleeping longer than they planned. Before they started packing, they went through the apartment and searched for bugs. The apartment stopped being a crime scene about three days after they left; that was plenty of time for Burke or his partner to plant something. After spending close to an hour searching the place over and over, they found nothing. That put their minds at ease enough to start packing. They started in Jess' room. Don started piling her clothes- some of his, too- onto the bed. "Damn, how much clothes do you need?" Don asked.

Jess giggled from the window. "Some of them are for those special occasions I seem to never have time for." She answered, looking out the window. She tried to see if anything was out of the ordinary, but nothing so far. Either Burke's friend wasn't there or he/she was very good at hiding.

"Get away from the window." Don ordered.

Jess closed the blinds and walked over to the bed. She was annoyed. "What did I say about going into protection mode when we got back?" she asked, picking up a shirt to fold and put in the nearest suitcase.

"That was before another person came into the picture." Don reminded her, while helping her with the clothes. "We don't know anything about this guy. He could be as dangerous as Burke." He continued.

"I can take care of myself, Don." She assured him.

"Oh, yeah, I can see that." Don said, sarcastically.

Jess dropped the shirt she was starting to fold. "I'm not going to listen to you call me weak." She said.

"I didn't say you were weak."

"You didn't have to." She snapped, leaving the room. She walked into the kitchen to grab her purse from the counter. "I'm going for a walk." She said.

"Not alone you're not." Don said. Jess turned to leave. "Jess." He called.

Jess turned back around. "Don, I'm suffocating." She snapped. "I don't think I've gotten at least an hour by myself this past week. Give me some space!" she confessed.

Don was getting mad, now. "Is that what you thought our vacation was about? Suffocating you?" he asked, raising his voice.

"I know what our vacation was about." She said, raising her voice to match his.

"Was spending the week with me really that bad?" he asked.

"That's not what I'm saying…" Jess began.

"Then tell me, Jess, what are you saying? Because if you can't spend a week with me, then good luck living with me!" Don cut her off.

"Then maybe I won't live with you." She argued.

That one took Don by surprise. They spent the next moment in a tense silence, glaring at each other, until Jess had enough. "I'm going for Chinese." She said, quietly. She turned to leave.

"Jess, don't go." Don pleaded. Jess ignored him and in a flash, she was gone. Don slammed his fists against the kitchen counter. Why did he say that?

* * *

Jess couldn't stop the tears that began to fall as she left the apartment building. She had a hard enough time proving to herself and her colleagues that she could do this job. She had to prove to most of the male cops that being a woman didn't make her weak. She didn't need Don thinking she was weak. Crying may not have helped her case much. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she set off to her favorite Chinese restaurant.

* * *

Don continued to fold the rest of Jess' clothes on her bed. She had five big suitcases. He hoped that would be enough, but he doubted it. He was interrupted by a knock at the door. He hoped it was Jess, but why would Jess be knocking at her own front door. Don went to answer it and found Stella at the door. "Hey, Flack." She greeted as Don let her in. She looked around. "Where's Angell?" she asked.

Don sighed. "We had a fight and she stormed out." He answered.

"So, you let her go? Don, we don't know if she's still in danger or not!" Stella began to rant.

"I know, Stella, I know." He said, softly.

Stella sighed and calmed herself. She knew that Don didn't need her yelling at him. "What was the fight about?" she asked.

"She said she was suffocating." He said.

Stella wasn't surprised. Jess was used to protecting people, not people protecting her. "Is she armed?" she asked.

Don turned around and walked into Jess' room. He knew Jess kept her gun and badge in the top drawer of her nightstand when she was home. Stella followed him in and watched as he opened the drawer. "Her gun and badge are with her." He said. "We were packing up her apartment." He said, motioning towards the pile of clothes on Jess' bed."

Stella smiled. She had a feeling Don would ask Jess to move in with him. "Need help?" she asked.

Don nodded. "That would be nice. Jess should be coming back soon. She said she was going to get Chinese."

* * *

The tears stopped falling before Jess reached the Chinese Restaurant. She placed an order to go and was sitting and waiting for her order to be ready. She made sure that she stayed alert. She slowly looked all around her. This was the first time in a week that she was alone out in public, so she wasn't taking any chances. She felt bad about going off on Don like she did. She knew that he was scared for her. Don was almost fearless, but losing Jess was Don's biggest fear. Jess was prepared to go home and apologize.

Jess looked out and spotted a man with a camera stand right in front of it. He was a short, blonde man with green eyes. His camera was in his hands, held up to his chest. With her hand inside her purse, clutching her gun, Jess stood up and made eye contact with the man. He smiled and began to walk away. Without a second thought, Jess put her purse down and followed the man with her gun and badge with her. "Hey, NYPD, stop!" she yelled after she walked out of the restaurant. Without even looking back at her, the man began to run. Jess followed sprinting to catch up with him. He ran about one hundred feet up the road, in the opposite direction of Jess' apartment, before turning the corner. Jess slowed down. She stopped at the corner and took her gun off safety. She slowly turned the corner, gun first. She looked around and realized that she was now in an alley. She saw a man on the ground, but the short cameraman was gone.

Jess rushed to the injured man and noticed the gunshot wound to his chest. She bent down to feel for a pulse; she felt none. After getting a good look at the man, Jess gasped and stepped back. She knew this man. It was Ben Michaels, former detective with the Brooklyn PD. The same Ben Michaels that found her and arrested Burke. The same man that kept in touch with her after she was released from the hospital thirteen years ago. The same man that helped Mindy drag her out of her house, after nearly a year of being too afraid to go anywhere. The same man that her family considered their friend.

**_So sad__ I warned you that I was killing people. Well, next chapter Mindy and Cliff are making an appearance._**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Wow, two chapters up within a week…. I rock. Lol. Is anyone else getting Error messages on this site? By the way, I got lot more reviews on this story than I thought I would, so…THANK YOU!**_

Jess wasn't focusing on anything around her, anymore. She didn't think anyone but her was in any danger. Mac, Danny, Lindsey, Hawkes, Benton, and Sid showed up about five minutes after Stella and Don did. Danny and Lindsey were taking pictures of the scene, Hawkes collected evidence, Stella and Benton were question possible witnesses, and Mac talked to Sid as he examined the body. "Time of death?" he asked.

"About three to four hours ago. Right now it seems obvious what killed him, single gunshot wound to the chest. I'll know more when I do the autopsy." Sid answered.

Mac nodded and turned to Jess and Don. Don had his arms around Jess. Jess was staring at Michaels' body. "Angell," Mac said, softly. "What happened?"

Jess didn't take her eyes off Michaels. "I saw a guy with a camera at the Chinese restaurant. He ran when I saw him. I saw him turn into this alley, but he was gone by the time I got here. There was only Ben." She said.

Mac nodded. "Sounds like he wanted you to find Michaels." He guessed. "What did he look like?"

Jess didn't answer; she couldn't focus long enough to. "Jess." Don said softly.

Jess finally stopped staring at Michaels and looked at Mac. "Blonde hair, green eyes, and he's about 5'3". He smiled when I saw him. Like everything that was going on was a game to him." She said.

Mac nodded. "Now I know he definitely wanted you to find Michaels." He concluded. "Follow me." He said. They walked from the alley to Mac's car. He opened the passenger door and pulled a piece of paper from a folder. "Is this him?" he asked, handing the paper to Jess.

Both Jess and Don got a good look at the sketch. "Mmhm." She answered.

Mac nodded. "Okay, Don, take her home."

"Do you mind if I keep this?" he asked.

"Yeah, I got copies."

"His wife died three years ago of Breast Cancer. His son lives in Iowa, but his daughter still lives with him in Brooklyn." Jess told Mac.

Mac nodded and walked back to the crime scene and Jess and Don walked to Don's car. "You should not have gone out alone, Jess."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." She said, bitterly.

Don sighed. "Jess, I'm serious. What if that guy tried to kill you. Following him alone was not smart, Jessica!"

"Don, I know!" she said. "Look, let's not talk about this here. I need to go see if my purse is where I left it at the restaurant." She finished.

They entered the restaurant to see a happy restaurant owner. "Miss Jessica, I keep you're food and your bag safe for you." He said with his thick Chinese accent.

Jess smiled. "Thank you, I'm sorry for leaving."

* * *

Don and Jess didn't even get through the door of their apartment before being confronted by a worried and angry, Cliff Angell. "Jessica Noel Angell, why didn't you call me? I had to read in the newspaper that my daughter was attacked by the same bastard that put her in the hospital thirteen years ago. Where the hell have you been? I've trying to call you for days, I was getting ready to file a missing person's report!" he ranted.

Jess was really not in the mood for another fight. "Dad, this isn't helping. Now, we'll invite you, but only if you can talk calmly." She said, softly.

Cliff nodded. He didn't mean to yell at her, but she had him scared for five days. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart." He apologized.

Jess and Don led cliff in. After they sat on the couch, Jess explained what happened that night, where they've been the past six days, and happened that day. "Wow." Cliff said, taking it all in. "Ben's really dead?" Jess nodded. "Poor, Amy, she's only just finished college." He paused. "Jessie, are you out of your mind? What were you doing following him alone like that?" Cliff asked after the shock of what Jess told him wore off.

"That's what I said." Don pointed out.

"Seriously, Jess, he could have been armed." Cliff continued.

"I was armed." She reminded him.

"Yes, but what if he had more people waiting? He could have led you right into an ambush." Don added.

Jess buried her face in her hands. "I know, I know, I was stupid. I wasn't exactly thinking: Okay, what do I do now. I acted on instinct and followed." She said. Don went to say something, but he was interrupted by Jess' ringing cell phone. Jess looked down on the caller ID: Mindy. "I'll be back."

She walked into the bedroom leaving Don and Cliff alone. "Hello?" she greeted.

"_So, I read the newspaper, for once, and what do I read? Oh yeah, my best friend almost getting killed. What the hell, Jess?"_ She heard Mindy say.

"Justin Burke was paroled a couple weeks ago. They parole board didn't contact me until after Burke tried to strangle me." Jess informed her.

"_Oh my God, aren't they supposed to inform you if he ever got a parole hearing so you can speak against him?"_ Mindy asked.

Jess laid down on the bed. "Yes!"

She heard Mindy sigh. _"Well, are you okay?"_

"I'm fine, but this isn't over. Ben's dead!"

"_No way!"_

"Yeah, look, I'm going to go. I left dad and Don alone together." She said.

She heard Mindy laugh. _"Yeah, better run. Be careful!"_

Jess closed her phone and walked back into the living room to see Don and her dad talking. "That was Mindy." She informed them.

"How is she?" Cliff asked.

"Worried."

"She's not the only one." Don added.

Jess sat down in between them. "Listen, Jessie." Cliff began. "I was going to try to persuade you to come home with me, but Don has convinced me that he can keep you safe here."

Jess nodded. "I'm moving in with him, Dad. I'll be fine I promise."

"And what about when you are back on the job?"

"You know as well as I do that I won't be alone most of the time. There is usually someone with me." She assured him.

Cliff smiled. "Just be careful." He kissed his daughter's forehead before getting up. "I'm going to head home. Call your brothers, they're worried." He said before leaving.

* * *

Mindy entered her first floor apartment in Queens after a particularly hard day at work. She was a social worker and today she needed to comfort four children, whose single mother committed suicide, while trying to find them a place to live. She dropped her bag on her couch and walked into the kitchen to decide what would be for dinner. She didn't have much to choose from. It was mostly TV dinners. She put one in the microwave and walked to her room.

As she stood by her bed, someone started shooting from outside the apartment into her bedroom. After hearing the first shot, Mindy hit the ground. She put her arms over her head until the gunfire ceased. Thirty seconds later, it did. Mindy, shakily, stood up and looked around her room: broken glass from the windows on the floor and behind her were bullet holes in her walls and in her closet door. Her legs were no longer capable of holding her up, so she collapsed on her bed.

* * *

Stella and Benton approached the home of Ben Michaels and his daughter, Amy. Stella knocked on the door, but no one answered. After knocking a couple more times, Benton decided to leave his card. He turned the doorknob, to find it unlocked. Benton was going to close his card in the door, but when he opened they saw a woman lying on the ground and blood all around her. They pulled their weapons and went in. As Stella checked on the woman, Benton looked around the one-story, three bedroom house. Benton walked back into the living room to join Stella. "It's all clear."

"She's dead." Stella said. They examined the dead woman: shot in her neck. "This must be Amy. I'll call Mac." Stella said taking out her phone.

* * *

Jess got the call from Mindy, telling her what just happening. Jess grabbed her purse to run out the door, when Don grabbed her. "We don't know if it's Burke. You said Mindy is a social worker, she probably attracts as many enemies as we do." Don said trying to calm his frantic girlfriend.

"Don, he's going after people who helped put him away." Jess said, trying her best not to lose it. "I was the victim, who testified against him, Ben arrested him, and Mindy testified against him saying she played match maker! I thought I'd be the only one in danger, but I'm not!"

* * *

Mindy was sitting in the back of an ambulance getting checked out. She wasn't shot and she was too far from the windows to be cut by glass, but the paramedics were treating her for shock. Jess and Don showed up as the paramedic were done. "Are you okay?" Jess asked.

Mindy hopped off the ambulance and pulled Jess into a hug. "I'm okay, just shaken." She answered as she pulled away.

"This is Don." Jess introduced.

"Do you need a place to stay?" Don asked.

Mindy nodded. "You have room?" she asked.

"We have a spare bedroom." He answered.

**_I had trouble describing the shooting scene. If anyone has any constructive criticism, please share! Either way, I always welcome criticism as long as you're nice about it…._**


	7. Chapter 7

**_*Sings__* I've got nothing to say! This is just a pointless little author's note! Nana nana! * __Stops singing and just barely dodges blunt object being thrown at me__* Damn, you people are tense…Guess I should get on with the story before the CSIs have to solve my murder…_**

_Burke's side of everything from the end of chapter two and on…._

His buddy's name was Lukas Miller. At first glance people would think he was a weak man. The blonde man may be small, but he was powerful. Miller and Burke met in prison, they were cellmates. He had been there since 1989, when beat his girlfriend to death. He was sixteen and like Burke, he was a sociopath. His fifteen-year-old girlfriend got what she deserved, she was a cheater. She didn't cheat on him; she cheated with him. To everyone else, he logic was twisted, but to him it made perfect sense. Despite objections from the girl's family, Miller was paroled in 2006. From there, he followed through with his good friend's request. He followed Jess around, keeping tabs on he so Burke knew where she was when he got out. It didn't surprise Miller at all when Burke showed up at his place injured. From years of following her around, he knew how feisty Jessica Angell was. Miller let Burke lay down on his couch. "So, is she dead?" he asked.

"I wish. She was armed." Burke answered, angrily.

Miller laughed. "What did you expect? I told you she was homicide detective, they carry guns."

Burke sighed. "Last time I saw Jessie was in court. She was crying like a little kid and shaking like a leaf as she told the court the fun we had. I got sent to prison for having too much fun. So Jessie was a little beat up, she knew she liked it." Burke laughed as he recalled the "fun" he had with Jess.

"So what's you're plan?" Miller asked.

Burke smirked as he grabbed a piece of paper and pen off the coffee table in front of the couch. He sat up and began to write with his good hand. "I'm making a list. Jessie wasn't the only one who put me away for twelve years." He said as he handed Miller the piece of paper.

_People who need to DIE:_

_Jessica Angell_

_Mindy Hall_

_Benjamin Michaels_

_Eric Wells_

_Jezabelle Kirk_

_Leroy Holmes_

"Wasn't Leroy Holmes your lawyer?" Miller asked.

Burke nodded. "His incompetence is why I got convicted." He said, angrily.

After sharing a cell with the man for eight years, Miller was well aware of Burke's rapidly changing mood swings. They always amused him. He looked back down at the list. "So who was the prosecutor? Hall, Michaels, Wells, or Kirk?" He asked.

"Kirk, the dumb bitch tried to put me in for Twenty-five years." He answered and then laughed. "She couldn't even get me in for half that."

Miller laughed, as well. Burke got a better deal than he got. "So who are these other people?" He asked.

"Mindy Hall set me and Jessie up. She did most of the talking. Mindy had a lot of experience where Jessie had none. That's why she was such an easy target. Michaels and Wells arrested me. I will get them all!" he explained. He laid back down on the couch and decided to sleep.

* * *

The apartment in the building directly across from Don's apartment remained vacant for atleast a year, lucky break for Miller. With Burke injured, Miller had to go back to stalking Jess for him. He stood by the window with his binoculars peeping into Don's living room window. So far he couldn't see them, but he knew they were there. He was now bored. He reached into his backpack and grabbed his ipod.

* * *

Burke needed something for his shoulder; it was killing him! He went into Miller's bathroom to see what kind of painkillers he had. He opened the medicine cabinet: nothing, not even Tylenol. Who didn't have Tylenol? Burke groaned as she looked through the bathroom. He found a purple sling. Purple? Weird man. Burke, carefully, slipped his arm into the sling, taking the strain off his injured shoulder. Now, Burke decided it was research time. He smirked as he stalked back into the living room.

* * *

He saw his target enter the living room with Don. He took several pictures of them walking to and sitting on the couch. Miller was sure that he captured the perfect Hal Mark moment. Don had Jess wrapped tightly in his arms as they sat on the couch. Jess' hair looked damp, like she just came out of the shower. They looked as if they were in an intense conversation. Miller smirked as he snapped another picture.

* * *

Burke sat on the couch with Miller's laptop. He decided to look up his enemies online. He knew a name like Jezabelle Kirk couldn't be as common as the other names. Kirk being and A.D.A made the search a lot easier. He typed "Assistant District Attorney Jezabelle Kirk" into the search engine to see what would pop up. The District Attorney's Office website was the first on the list. A.D.A Kirk now worked in Manhattan. Her address and home phone number wasn't listed on the site, but that's what the phone book was for. He was sure there was a website for it, but he needed to google it. Once the website was pulled up, he put in Kirk's name and found nothing. Jezabelle Kirk was not listed in the phone book. Smart lady. He didn't care, though. He knew where the District Attorney's office was. Time for more research. He learned that Mindy was a social worker, living in Queens. Holmes had his own law firm located in Brooklyn. Michaels was now retired. No address was listed for him, but Burke would check the address he lived at thirteen years ago. He couldn't find any info on Wells. The most recent New York address was from four years ago. He knew the Detective wasn't dead or there would at least be a memorial for him. There's no way he could be retired. The last time Burke saw Wells those years ago, Wells had been in his early thirties. Oh well, he would look more into him later. For now, he had enough targets.

* * *

Miller watched Don and Jess' make out session. Don was lying on the couch with Jess straddling him. He watched as Jess' lips roamed Don's neck. He snapped a few more pictures before deciding that was enough for today. He didn't know if they were going any farther than that and he didn't care to know.

* * *

Miller arrived back at his place to find Burke watching TV. "How's Jessie?" Burke smirked.

"She's at the boyfriend's, got great shots of them making out." Miller responded.

"How sweet."

Miller nodded and headed to his dark room.

* * *

The next day, Miller failed to locate Jess. She and Don weren't at his apartment, the precinct, or the crime lab. Her apartment was still a crime scene, so she couldn't be there. Miller checked her usual coffee spots and the Chinese restaurant near Don's apartment, he couldn't find her. He even drove out to Brooklyn to see if she was visiting her dad, but she was not there. Burke was not going to be happy.

* * *

Miller arrived at his apartment to find Burke in the kitchen, trying to make himself a sandwich. With one arm in a sling, he found it kind of hard. Miller walked over to help him. "Didn't expect you to be back yet." Burke inquired.

Miller groaned before giving him the sandwich. "Yeah, well, your girl's in the wind." He said, putting the mayo and the lunchmeat in the fridge.

"What do you mean?" Burke asked.

"She's not at her apartment, not at the boyfriends, or her precinct, or the crime lab, or visiting her father or brothers. I can't find her or her boyfriend." He answered.

"Damn it!" Burke yelled, pounding his fist onto the counter top. Then he smirked. "I guess for now we'll focus on my other enemies." He laughed. "Let's start with Ben Michaels. Old Ben is retired now, so it shouldn't be too hard to keep an eye on him. I don't think he'll be as active as Jessie."

* * *

Ben Michaels still lived in the same three-bedroom house as he did thirteen years ago. In fact, he's been living in the same three-bedroom house for over forty years. His son, Craig, was thirty-one and living in Chicago as an accountant. He was always good with numbers growing up. His daughter, Amy, was twenty-eight and had just finished law school that June. She started working as a law guardian immediately after graduation. She loved working with the kids. Amy still lived at home so her father would have someone to talk to.

Burke and Miller drove by the Michaels' house. There was no car there, so they guessed that no one was home. Miller parked the car on the next block and they walked over. It was a yellow house with bushes on the sides just below the windows. Burke looked into the front window and spotted Ben asleep on the couch in the living room with the TV on. Miller walked around the one story house looking through windows and saw no one else. Miller went back around front. "So we doing this now?" he asked.

Burke nodded. "No, lets wait until we find Jessie."

* * *

A week later they found Jess. It was time to set their plan in motion. Time to pay Ben Michaels a visit.

No one knows exactly when they will die. Ben and Amy went on their normal routine on the day of their deaths. Amy went to work and came home on her lunch break. Not long after Amy came home, Miller kicked in the front door. Amy jumped off the couch and screamed. Burke pointed his weapon at her and fired. The bullet pierced her neck and she fell. Ben came running in and the first thing he saw was his daughter on the ground gasping for air. "Amy!" he yelled.

He saw Burke coming towards him and lunged at him. His police training kicked in as Ben knocked the gun out of Burke's hand and tackled him. As the men struggled, Miller walked behind them and pistol-whipped Ben in the back of his head, knocking him out. Burke used his right arm to push Ben off him. His injured shoulder hurt, bad. He covered it with his right hand and realized he was bleeding. He put his hand on the floor to give him enough leverage to pick himself up, leaving a bloody handprint behind. Miller dragged Ben's unconscious body out of the house and they left Amy alone to die.

* * *

Miller went to go find Jess, leaving Burke and Ben in an alley near the Chinese restaurant near Jess' apartment. Ben was slowly regaining consciousness. His vision was blurry as he sat up and trying to process his surroundings. Once his vision cleared, he didn't know were he was. He stood up and saw Burke standing there, still bleeding with a gun. It was a different gun this time. This one had a silencer on it. "Where's Amy?" he asked.

"Not here." Burke answered.

"She's dead, isn't she?" he asked.

"Probably." Burke answered.

Ben sat down on the ground. Tears fell freely after realizing that his little girl was gone. "Why, Justin?" he whispered.

Burke laughed. "Killing her wasn't part of the plan, just a bonus."

Ben stood up, enraged at Burke's laughter. "If your beef was with me, then you deal with me. Amy had nothing to do with this. You are a coward!" He ranted.

Burke had enough and shot him in the chest. "There, now you are with her." he mocked. He just stood around waiting for the text message from Miller.

An hour later, Burke's phone vibrated. He looked at the message: _Found her. _Burke smirked and walked out of the alley.

* * *

Miller smiled when Jess spotted him. Her facial expression was priceless, in his opinion. As he saw her reach into her purse, he walked away. He didn't need to look back to see if she was following, he could hear her calling. He took off running. He ran back to the alley and saw Ben's lifeless body on the ground. There was a black ladder attached the building in the alley, leading to an open window. Miller quickly climbed the ladder, entered the window and closed it.

* * *

Mindy Hall was their next target. Burke drove into Queens, because their plan required Miller to carry it out. He wasn't the one injured. As they drove up to Mindy's apartment building, Miller got his weapon ready, he also made sure to have extra amo. Miller got out of the front passenger seat and watched as Mindy entered her bedroom. Miller took that as his cue. Miller fired continuously into Mindy's bedroom window, moving his arm slightly with each shot. The sound of the gunshots and the breaking glass of the window excited him. He emptied his clip and quickly replaced it with another one and continued firing. After emptying that last clip, he picked the first up off the ground, jumped back in the car, and Burke sped off. Three victims in one day was enough for them. They decided to go home and get a good night's sleep.

* * *

The next day they decided to go after Jezabelle Kirk. The blonde middle aged A.D.A. just gotten a conviction for a man that killed his neighbor over money. She was satisfied with herself and she was going out for breakfast. Burke decided to do this one alone. He was just going to walk by and shoot. Unfortunately for him, he saw a familiar curly haired brunette walk up to Jezabelle. It was Detective Stella Bonasera, a coworker of Jess'. The cops had caught on to his plan. Damn. He would be back for her.

_**Sorry it took so long! This chapter was VERY hard to write and I could get it the way I wanted it. I'm finally happy with it. Thank you, CSI4lyfNCIS13, for the tip with the shooting scene. It helped. Not quite sure when I am going to update this. Before I do I have two stories on two different accounts to update. Plus, I wanna add a story or two to my NCIS OC series. I'll update as soon as I can! If any of you read Why Must I Go, I'm hitting up that one next!**_

_**Well, my mood when I started typing up a couple weeks ago to now is completely different. My family's dog was attacked by other dogs and was seriously hurt. I swear, we are down here in Georgia two months and something's already happened to her. Anybody got any ideas on how to get the images of a wounded dog out of your head? I will take suggestions!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Yay, back with another chapter. I better get this done before I get distracted by that awesome book I'm reading. Tess Gerritsen rocks! Anyways, thanks so much for the reviews! Keep 'em coming, they feed my ego. Lol. Okay, on with the story…..**_

The CSIs started processing the Michaels' house at a little after 7 pm. They finished the scene about four hours later. It was a little out of their jurisdiction, but since Amy's father was found dead in an alley in the city and they were positive it was the same killer, the cops in Brooklyn knew they needed to give them the case. Every cop in Brooklyn wanted this bastard. He murdered a retired cop from their precinct; to say they were out for blood would be an understatement. Don joined them as they were going over evidence, early the next morning. Jess was at the precinct talking to Lieutenant Sythe. Mindy didn't want to be alone, so she was with her. Mac looked up everyone involved with Burke's conviction in 1998. "Okay, Wells is now in San Diego where he is the captain of one of the Homicide Units there. I told him about the situation, but he said he'd be fine. I have a couple friends at the F.B.I. looking after him." He paused. "Stella, do me a favor and track down A.D.A. Kirk." Stella nodded and left to her office.

Everyone nodded. "Where's Angell?" Hawkes asked.

"With Lieutenant Sythe." Don answered.

"And her friend?" Danny asked.

"Mindy is with Jess, she wasn't ready to be alone."

"Understandable." Lindsey said. "How does Mindy factor into this?"

"She and Jess have been best friends since they were about ten. She set Jess and Burke and then testified against him." Don said.

"Okay, I ran the sketch of Burke's friend slash partner through facial recognition." Danny announced, pulling a piece of paper out of a folder and handed it to Mac. "His name is Lukas Miller, he's thirty-seven and served seventeen years for murder. He beat a young girl to death and was paroled in 2006." He finished.

Mac read over his rap sheet, and then handed it to Don. "Did you call over to the prison he was at?" he asked.

Danny nodded. "Yep. Burke and Miller were bunking together from the time Burke was convicted to the time Miller was paroled. They acted like brothers. Whenever Burke beat up another prisoner, Miller was right there and vice versa." He said.

Don was reading through Miller's rap sheet and memorized his face. Now that he knew whom to look for, he could protect Jess better.

* * *

Stella got a hold of Jezabelle's secretary, who faxed her Jezabelle's schedule for the day. She had to be in court early today. She had to be there at 9:30, which was a half hour ago. With any luck, Stella may meet her outside the courthouse when she gets out of court. She never testified for Jezabelle, so she had to find a picture of her. Mac sent her a text message with Miller's picture and information, so she was ready to go.

* * *

Stella's timing was perfect, Jezabelle was just walking out of the court house when she and a few uniforms got there. Judging by the smile on her face, Stella would say things went her way in court. Stella glanced down at the photo in her hand to make sure she had the right woman. The smiling woman was indeed ADA Jezabelle Kirk. Stella walked up to the middle-aged blonde. "ADA Kirk?" she asked.

"Depends on who's asking." She answered.

Stella pulled her badge out. "Detective Stella Bonasera, NYPD." She said. "Justin Burke was paroled recently and has been going after people who helped put him away." She added.

Jezabelle didn't recognize the name. "I was the ADA that convicted him?" she asked.

Stella nodded. "Yes, in 1998 for kidnapping and raping Jessica Angell. She was sixteen and missing for three day." She answered.

"Oh, yes, I remember him now. I'm sorry, when I first became an ADA about twenty years ago, my first boss told me that you never forget the ones you win. That was a lie, after awhile faces and names of suspects begin to blend. Burke killed someone while in prison. That earned him an extra ten years, he should still be in prison for eight more years." She explained. It was true, though. After twenty years, it was hard to put faces and names to her convictions. It only ones she'd never forget were the victims. She remembered every single one of them, dead or alive, especially kids and teenagers. She had a son of her own and she represented them as if she were representing her son.

"I know he should be, but he's not. Jessica wasn't made aware of his release until he showed up at her apartment and attacked her." Stella said.

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine, she shot the bastard. She's a detective now." Stella informed her.

Jezabelle smiled. "Good for her. Obviously, he's not dead or you wouldn't be here." She said.

Stella nodded. "That's right, we still don't know where he was hit, but Benjamin Michaels and his daughter, Amy, are dead. He also tried to kill Mindy Hall, who also testified against him. Now we think Amy was home at the wrong time, but Ben and Mindy were targeted. We think you are a target, too." She explained.

The color seemed to drain from Jezabelle's face. "I've had my fair share of threats over the years, Detective." She began. "But this one seems all too real. I don't care about you protecting me, but could you help protect my son and my niece? My son's name is Elijah and he's ten. My niece's name is Cameron and she's fourteen. My brother and his wife were killed in a car accident two years ago. I promised them I'd take care of Cammie. She was in the accident, too, and she's paralyzed from the waist down." She said, pulled a picture out of her wallet and handed it to Stella.

Stella took a good long look at the picture. Elijah had a big grin on his face. Other than the red hair and brown eyes, he looked just like his mother. Cammie was sitting in her wheelchair with a shy smile on her face. She had brown hair and blue eyes; she was beautiful. Standing behind Elijah was a red headed man, which Stella guessed what Jezabelle's husband. "This your husband?" she asked.

Jezabelle nodded. "Yeah, Bowen, he's a construction worker."

"I'll get people on them." Stella assured her.

Jezabelle smiled. "Thank you." She said. "Jessica and Mindy's parents didn't want them to testify. Cliff Angell didn't think his daughter could handle it and Mindy's parents didn't want Mindy involved. They were both brave and agreed. Jessica wanted to make sure that Burke couldn't hurt anyone else and Mindy wanted to help her best friend. I think she blamed herself for what happened to Jessica." She added.

Stella nodded. "These uniforms will be with you until we say otherwise." She said, pointed to two men and a woman.

* * *

Leroy Holmes had today off. He decided he would spend the day at home. He had no wife and no kids; therefore he had to look forward to a quiet day. Unless one of his clients was arrested, he would have no interruptions. He sat in his black recliner and read a book. The only interruption was the click from a gun. He looked up and shock took over his facial features. After a loud bang, Leroy Holmes saw no more.

* * *

Jess sat in Lieutenant Sythe's office to discuss her current situation. "Angell, are you sure that you will be able to work in the field without thinking about Justin Burke?" he asked.

Jess sighed. Of course she'd think out him, but she couldn't let it affect her work. "You know as well as I do that I can't live my life in fear, if I do then he wins." She answered.

Sythe nodded. "Of course I know, but that doesn't answer my question." He said.

"I will be fine." She assured him. _I hope._

"Okay, I want you on desk duty for atleast a week. I know your injuries weren't life threaten and have healed, but you need to pass a psyche eval before I consider letting you back in the field." He said. "Make an appointment with the department shrink, Detective." He ordered.

Jess nodded. "Yes, sir." She said before exiting his office. Mindy was sitting at her desk, so Jess walked over.

"Well?" Mindy asked.

Jess sighed. "Desk duty for atleast a week or when I pass a psyche eval, which ever happens last." She answered. She hated desk duty with a passion. She was not the type to sit for too long.

"Come on, don't look so glum. It's only a week and you're not crazy, therefore you'll pass the psyche eval no problem!" Mindy assured her. "Can we go to Starbucks or something?"

Jess smiled. "You just had coffee." She reminded her.

Mindy picked up her cup, turned it upside down and shook it. "I'm out." She said.

Jess laughed. "You, Mindy Hall, are a coffee addict." She teased.

"And proud of it." She proclaimed, putting her cup down.

"As much as I'd like to get out of here, I so am not in the mood to get into an argument with Don." Jess said. "So, while I'm waiting, I'll get the paper work that I was supposed to do last week done."

Mindy sighed. "Well, is there someplace more private? I need to call my job and check on the kids a place in foster care yesterday." She asked.

Jess pointed to the other end of the room. "Break room is over there, if anyone give you a problem, then tell them to take it up with me." She said. Mindy took out her cell phone and headed towards the break room. Jess reclaimed her desk and began the paper work.

* * *

Mac had gotten a call from the Brooklyn PD. The call was unexpected and he and his team messed up. Who would have thought that Burke would want his lawyer dead? The team and Don were gathered in the crime lab's break room. He was glad that they were all together, this way he wouldn't have had to repeat the same information more than once. "Glad you're all here." He started.

Stella could tell by the look on Mac's face that something wasn't right. "What's wrong, Mac?" she asked

"Just got a call from homicide in Brooklyn. Looks like Burke killed his lawyer." Mac said.

"Wait, Burke was out to get his own lawyer, too?" Lindsey asked.

Mac nodded. "They haven't confirmed that it was Burke, but he's been on the warpath and I don't think that it's just a coincidence that Holmes just happens to end up with a bullet in his forehead." Mac explained.

"But why the hell would Burke kill his own lawyer? I mean he's going to need him when we finally catch his ass." Danny added.

Stella shrugged. "Maybe he felt like Holmes didn't do his job right, therefore, he's also to blame for his conviction." She guessed.

Don stood up. "I'm going to head to the precinct." He said, as he walked out. They knew that that was code for "I'm going to make sure Burke hasn't gotten to Jess." They understood and no one stopped him from leaving.

* * *

_Six weeks later:_

No one has heard from Burke or Miller in weeks; they seemed to have dropped off the face of the Earth. Mac called Wells to make sure they didn't make their way to San Diego.

Mindy couldn't bare to return to her apartment with these bastards on the loose. They knew where she lived, but she couldn't keep staying in Don and Jess' spare room either. Jess told Mindy to stay as long as she needed, but Mindy was determined to start living her life again. Two weeks after the shooting at her apartment, Mindy found a new apartment and moved in. She made sure that her address was unlisted in any kind of phonebook, paper or internet.

Craig Michaels went back to Brooklyn to identify his father and sister and to plan their funeral. Ben and Amy where buried side-by-side next to Lori Michaels, their wife and mother. Craig stayed long enough to pack up their house with the help of Jess, Don, Mindy, and Jess' father and brothers. Going through Amy's stuff brought tears to Craig's eyes. Even though they were both adults, Amy was still Craig's little sister and he still felt like it was his job to protect her. He failed and now she was dead. He put Amy's high school, college, and law school diplomas into a box he would take with him back to Chicago, along with photo albums and some of his parents' stuff. By the time they finished the house, Craig was a sobbing mess. He wanted them back. He was the big brother; he was supposed to die before Amy. Craig put the stuff he wasn't taking with him into storage, until he figured out what he was going to do with it. Then after visiting his family's graves one last time, Craig returned to Chicago with a broken heart.

Jess passed her psyche eval and returned to active duty. Even though she hadn't heard Burke in weeks, she nor Don would let their guard much. After three weeks, Jess finally convinced a still very over protective Don to let her go places on her own. Jess was sitting on the couch with Don in her apartment when her phone rang. She looked on the caller ID and saw that it was Mindy. "Hey, Mindy." She answered.

"_Hey, lets go clubbing tonight. There's this new night club that just opened by me last week and I hear that it's pretty cool."_

"Okay, I could use a night out." She said. She had just wrapped up a triple homicide and didn't have any down time that week.

"_So see you around nine?" she asked._

"Yep, see you." She answered before hanging up. She looked over at Don. "I'm going with Mindy to a club over by her. I should be coming home around one." She told him. She, instantly, saw him tense up. Just because he agreed he didn't need to be with her everywhere she went, didn't mean he was happy with her leaving every time she went out. "Don, I'm going to be fine. I'll be with Mindy and won't drink, because someone has to make sure Mindy gets home okay." She assured him.

Don nodded. "Be careful." He said.

Jess leaned over a kissed Don before heading to their room.

* * *

That night went without incident. Jess and Mindy left the club around midnight after dancing and drinking. Jess only had beer and Mindy had three beers and two shots of tequila. After making sure a drunk Mindy got home okay, Jess went back to her apartment and Don was still up waiting for her.

Jess didn't have to work, but Don and Mindy did. Jess drove into Queens to pick up Mindy from work. She and Jess were just going to hang out at Jess' place. Jess walked into the child protective service building. The building had a huge window in front and Jess saw Mindy talking to a coworker. Jess walked over to them. "Hey." She greeted.

"Hey, Jess." Mindy smiled. "This is Helen." She introduced.

"Hi." Jess greeted. Helen returned to gesture. "You ready?" Jess asked Mindy.

"Yes, I just need to…" Before she finished, a loud bang and the window glass breaking cute her off.

Jess didn't have her service weapon with her, so she pulled her back up out of its ankle holster. She didn't see anyone at the window so she stepped outside. Again, she saw no one armed around. She ran back inside where she saw Mindy on the floor bleeding with Helen putting pressure on her stomach. "Mindy!" Jess ran back to her and dropped to her knees. Everyone in the building was running towards to back exit. Jess reached for her phone to call for back up and an ambulance. She didn't get a chance to call.

"Behind you!" Helen yelled

Jess didn't get a chance to react before something hard hit the back of her head. She fell onto Mindy's chest and everything went dark for her.

_**Should I run now? Anyways, I managed to finish this with out the books I checked out from the library distracting me….much. Now I'm off to read The Sinner and cuddle with my teddy bear. Yes, I sleep with a teddy bear! His name is Candycane and he's all soft and cuddly! **_


	9. Chapter 9

**Look at me getting this up on schedule! Well, I'm still alive after last chapter's cliffhanger, barely. Montana Angell, those damn pitchforks hurt! I've learned my lesson. I won't ramble this time.**

**Brief spoiler for Pay Up (The most hated episode!)**

Don couldn't believe what was happening. Danny came to get him as soon as he heard about what went down in Queens. He promised to keep her safe and he broke it! Not trusting Don to drive himself, Danny drove. They pulled up in front of the scene. Don looked at the large window in front. Some of the glass in the center of it was not longer in it and the remaining glass was cracked around it. Don and Danny ducked under the crime scene tape and walked into the building. There were three rows of cubicles, Mindy's blood laid on the floor in front to the middle row. More another pool of blood laid halfway between the first pool and the door. Stella was there taking pictures of the two areas. Don heard someone else had been shot, but he didn't have a name. He looked down at the floor in front of the window, where glass laid shattered. Lindsey was taking pictures of that. Don started looking around for Mac. He found him still outside, on the phone and walked out to him. After Mac saw Don, he hung up. "How are you holding up, Don?" He asked, sympathetically.

Don ignored the question. How did he think he was holding up? He was scared, angry, guilty, and he wanted Burke and Miller to die slow and painful death at his hand! If any harm came to Jess, Burke and Miller were as good as dead. "What do you know?" he asked.

Mac sighed and began to tell him what he got from Helen.

_Flashback: told in Helen's POV_

_One second Mindy was introducing Jess and Helen to each other, and the next, someone shot through the window. Helen hit the floor. After about ten seconds she looked up and saw Jess running out the door, armed. She looked over to find Mindy and she found her on the ground bleeding. "No." she whispered crawling over to her. "No, Mindy don't do this. Stay with me!" she pleaded, with putting pressure on her stomach wound. Mindy was fading in and out of consciousness. It was hard to tell what was going through her mind at this moment. Was she in pain or was she numb? There was so much blood, Helen thought she was going to be sick. _Come on, Helen now is not the time. Focus on Mindy. _She saw Jess drop to her knees in front of her and pull out her phone. That's when Helen also was a man with a gun come up behind Jess. He rose the gun as if he was going to hit her with it. "Behind you!" she screamed. Jess didn't get a chance to move before he struck the back of her head. Jess collapsed on Mindy's chest and appeared to be unconscious. The man bent down pick Jess up. Helen had a choice to make: Leave Mindy and help Jess or keep Mindy from bleeding out and let the man take Jess. _I'm sorry, Mindy. _As the man started to walk out the door with Jess, Helen ran towards them, hoping to stop him from taking her. It turns out, the man wasn't alone. Another man, shorter than the first one appeared with a gun and fired at her. The bullet went through her right shoulder and she went down. When she looked up, the men and Jess were gone. _

End Flashback:

"Mindy took a bullet in her abdomen and Helen Lynch's wound was a thru and thru right shoulder. Hawkes found the bullet in the computer monitor in cubicle one." Mac said.

"How are they? Don asked.

"They're both in surgery." Mac told him. "Helen was conscious long enough to tell us what happened and ID Burke and Miller. We showed her their pictures."

"We have to find her Mac." Don said. "I almost lost her last year, I can't lose her. I promised her I wouldn't let them get to her!" he added.

Mac put his hand on Don's arm. "We'll find her. You know Jess, she's tough. She survived Burke once, she can do it again." He assured him.

* * *

Jess' head hurt, badly. Her eyes weren't opened yet, but she could tell she was on a bed on her wrists were either tied to or cuffed to the head board. Jess opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a room, but not just any room. It was the same room that Burke had held her captive in thirteen years ago. "Oh hell no!" she groaned. Thank God she still had her clothes on.

"Look who's awake." She heard someone beside her say.

She looked to her right and there was Burke. "Seriously, Justin, you want to try this again?" she glared at him. _Breathe, Jessica, breathe._

"I warned you, Jessie." He reminded her, smiling. "You have grown up since we were last together." He said, running his hand along her body.

"Obviously, you haven't." she snapped, trying to move away from his hand.

Angered by her statement, he slapped her across the face. "Be nice, Jessie, and maybe I won't kill you." He said. He decided to start his revenge now, he's waited far too long.

He started to undo her pants. Jess almost froze until she realized her feet were still free. As long as her feet were free, she stood a chance. She kicked him hard in the face, but unfortunately, not hard enough to knock him out. He fell to the ground with his hands covering his face. He decided to ignore the pain and try again. This time he got up and started punching her in the chest and stomach. She bit her lip, trying not to scream. Burke's head was close enough that she could make another move. In between punches, she pulled herself to enough the head butt Burke. He groaned in pain and went down. She let out a groan herself, that hurt. She looked at her restraints, she was tied with a rope just like last time. The only difference between then and now was she knew how to get out of them now. She took the end of the rope in her mouth and pulled. The rope came undone with ease. Before she had a chance to undo she other hand, Burke was back up and ready for more. He jumped on top of her, momentarily knocking the air out of her. He wasn't up for long. With a swift knee to the groin and a punch to the face, Burke was down on the ground again and was having trouble getting back to. Jess quickly untied her other hand and wasted no time getting up. She tried to make a break for the door, but Burke grabbed her ankle and tripped her. He got on his knees and tried to pull her toward him. Once again, his plan failed when Jess kicked his forehead, this time knocking him out. Jess let of a sigh of relief as she got herself off the floor. Her relief was short lived as she took a few steps in the hallway and came face to face with Miller, who had a gun pointed at her.

* * *

Hawkes went back to the lab to analyze the bullet from the scene and sent Kendall to collect the one in Mindy from the hospital. Adam tried to trace Jess' cell phone, but unfortunately, it was off. He made sure the computer would beep if it was turned back on.

* * *

Everyone else was in Brooklyn. Don, Mac, and Stella went to Miller's address. "Lukas Miller, NYPD, open up!" Don yelled as he banged the door. No answer. "NYPD!" Again, no answer. Oh, screw it! They had a warrant. Don kicked in the door and they went in. They searched the place from top to bottom. There wasn't much to search, it was a one bedroom apartment. In the end, Jess was not there. "Damn it!" Don yelled, punching the wall.

Stella put her hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Don. This won't help us find Jess any faster." She said.

Don sighed and nodded. He hoped Lindsey, Danny, and Benton had better luck. They walked out to find the three outside the apartment building. They searched Burke's place, but there was no sign that anyone had been since they were there. Next they would search any and all abandoned buildings and warehouses.

* * *

Miller tossed her down a flight of stairs into the basement. The room was completely empty, other than a light hanging from the ceiling. There were no windows either. Her body ached, especially her head. Head butting Burke right after being knocked unconscious was not the best idea, but it stopped him from raping her and that's all that mattered to her. She was NOT going to let him rape her, again; she'd rather he kill her first. She walked up the stairs to examine the door to see if she could get out that way. It had a bolt lock. Damn it, she couldn't pick that. She walked back down the stairs and sat on the bottom step. She felt like breaking down, but she needed to keep it together. If she broke down, then she was admitting defeat and they win. She it was cold down there. She stuck her hands in her pockets to warm them, when she felt something in them. She pulled the thing out and it was her phone. How the hell did it survive her tumble down the stairs? She turned the phone on, hoping she could call Don for help. She only had a weak signal down here, but she needed to try. She had Don on speed dial.

* * *

Don, Mac, and Stella had gone through two buildings with no luck. Last they heard, Danny, Lindsey, and Benton had through two as well. They all had the same results, no sign of Jess, Burke, or Miller. The Brooklyn PD had their people searching other buildings, anything to find the bastards that killed one of their own and his daughter. Don was barely keeping calm. He was so scared for Jess. He couldn't lose her, not now, not ever! They were about to start searching another building when Don's phone rang. He looked at the caller ID: Jess! "Hang on." He instructed everyone as he picked up. "Jess, are you okay?" he asked. He heard her say his name, and then all he got was static. "Jess, can you hear me? Jess? Jess?" Call disconnected. "Damn it. I lost her." he said. Mac pulled out his phone.

* * *

"Don? Don, are there? Hello? Damn it!" Jess was frustrated. All she got was static and then the phone disconnected. She hoped Adam could still track her signal.

* * *

Adam heard the beep he was hoping for. "Hawkes, Kendall, get in here!" he called from the room he was in.

Hawkes and Kendall raced in. "What's up?" Kendall asked.

"Her phone's back on." He announced as his phone rang. The caller ID said Mac. "Hi Mac." He answered. "Yes, I know. Her signal's weak, but I think I can work with it. I'm triangulating now." He said, typing.

"Come on, come on." Hawkes whispered.

"Got it! 1345 Elmers street, Brooklyn." He said.

"Wait, I read through the case report, that's where Burke held her hostage thirteen years ago." Kendall informed them.

Adam nodded and relayed the information before hanging up. "They're on their way."

* * *

"Stella, call Lindsey and tell her to met us at 1345 Elmer Street and fast!" Mac ordered as the three ran to the Mac's car. Stella nodded and took out her phone.

Don wasted no time in hopping into the front passenger seat. _We're coming, Jess, just hang on a little longer._

* * *

She heard the bolt lock being unlocked. She quickly put her phone back in her pocket, stood up, and backed away. Burke closed the door and walked down the stairs. His face was very bruised, which gave Jess some satisfaction. He frowned. "That wasn't very nice of you, Jessie." He said, pulling a gun out and pointing it at her. "Any last words?" he asked as he moved closer.

_**Well, I have learned my lesson. I stole another vest from the nearest police dept, I have my dad's motorcycle helmet, and I've got protective padding for the rest of me. Take that, Montana Angell and your silly pitchfork! Anyways, in my defense, these are the last few chapters and I need to keep up the suspense up. I'll get the next (and possibly last) chapter up as soon as I can. Hmmm, I wonder who I'm killing?**_


	10. Chapter 10

**_I'm still alive! Okay, don't kill me! I had this chapter ready for you not long after I posted last chapter, but the I lost internet. Hanging upside down over boiling water while being poked, steamrollers, and chainsaws. I have to do cliffhangers more often, but not in this story, though. BTW, __CSI4lyfNCIS13, my dad says boiling oil would be better. __Yes, I'm sorry to say that this is the last chapter of this story. Sad but true, I'm surprised I was able to make it this long. Just warning you, I never know where or how to end a story. If the story's ending is kinda corny or ends abruptly, don't say I didn't warn you._**

1345 Elmers Street was a small house, judging by the outside. Everyone got there at the same time. Don and Mac were closest to the door, followed by Stella, Danny, Lindsey, and Benton. "Okay," Mac began. "Remember, that both Burke and Miller are armed." He reminded them. Mac walked past Don to the door and knocked. "NYPD, open up!" he yelled. No one answered, but he could hear someone moving inside. Mac put his hand on the doorknob and tried to turn it but it was locked. He sighed as he pointed his weapon at the doorknob and fired.

With their obstacle gone, the door pushed open with ease and they went in. Right when they walked in, they saw Miller in the living room with a gun pointed at them. "Put it down, Miller." Stella ordered.

The man smirked. "Now, why would I do that?" he asked.

"Where are Jessica Angell and your buddy, Justin Burke?" Don demanded.

"Never heard of them." He lied.

"Cut the crap, we know you and Burke were cell mates and you've both been ID'd as Jess' abductors, now where is she?" Don yelled.

"Easy, Flack." Mac warned and then turned his attention to Miller. "There's no way you're getting out of this. You might as well just put the gun down and tell us where they are." Mac said.

"What if I said she was dead? What if Burke went ahead and put her outta her misery after fucking her one last time? What happens then?" he taunted.

"Well, you know what happens then, but that's not what happened, is it?" Stella inquired.

"How would you know, Bitch?" He yelled. The man decided he had enough and they heard his gun click. They were fast though and they all fired. Miller went down with three bullets to the chest.

Mac walked up to him and checked for a pulse. "He's dead." He announced. Right after, everyone heard three ear piercing gunshots and ran towards the noise.

* * *

_Just before the gunshots:_

The first thing that when through Jess' mind was "oh shit!" as Burke moved closer to her with the gun pointing at her, instinct and her training kicked in as she quickly knocked the gun from his hand. After he lost his grip on his pistol, Burke jumped on Jess, tackling her to the ground. He punched her in the face a couple times before Jess got one good punch to the face in, knocking him off of her. Before she had a chance to move from him, Burke took a hold of one of her ankles with both hands and pulled her back to him. Once again, he was on top of her with his hands wrapped tightly around her neck. As Jess tried to breathe, she reached behind his left ear, dug her nails into the skin behind it, and yanked it forward as hard as she could. Burke screamed in pain before punching her so hard in the face that she was seeing stars. Trying to stay focused on Burke, Jess punched him in the chest, but that had no effect on him. He leaned over her again, lifting his body just enough to give Jess room to knee him in his groin area. Once he collapsed on top of her, Jess pushed him off. The gun was about five feet away. Jess moved quickly, crawling over to it and picking it up. In that time, Burke recovered and stood up and ran towards her. He was hovering over her, now. Jess quickly fired, putting three bullets in Burke's chest. He collapsed on to top her. Jess pushed him off and scooted herself away and sat against the wall. As she stared at Burke body, she didn't feel her body aching anymore. She didn't know if it was the adrenalin or shock. Burke's body laid unmoving, Jess knew he was dead. It was over; her life could go back to normal.

Jess put the gun on the floor next to her as she heard footstep on the stairs. Don raced to her. "Jess!" Don said, putting his arms around her. "Are you okay?" He asked after he pulled away.

Jess forced herself to stop staring at Burke and looked at Don. "I'm fine." She answered.

Don helped her to her feet. He sighed as he took in her appearance. "Is that yours or his?" he asked, referring to the blood on her shirt.

"He fell on me after I shot him." She answered.

Don ran his finger along the bruises along her cheek and jaw. "Did he do that?"

"I'm fine." She said. "Let's just get out of here."

Mac bent over Burke to check his pulse. "He's dead." He announced.

Don smiled. "It's over now." He assured her.

"Miller?"

"Dead." Danny said.

Jess nodded. Lindsey, who pulled her phone after they all got down stairs, stepped closer. "Ambulance and Sid are on their way." She said.

"Why don't we all step outside?" Stella offered, noticing Jess had her eyes back on Burke.

* * *

Due to the fact that Jess spent some time unconscious, the hospital wanted to keep her overnight. She only agreed with the condition that she was transferred to the hospital in Queens were Mindy was. She wanted to be the one to tell her best friend that it was over. Other than a concussion, she had a couple of cracked ribs and a bunch if bruises on her upper body. Mindy was doing well, too. They were told if she survived the next twelve hours, then she should be fine, as long as there were no complications. Her parents were with her.

Jess called her dad to tell him everything and he was now on his way. Don was with Jess in the hospital, but they weren't doing much talking. Jess was glad, though, she needed to think for a bit. She could have been killed today. Yes, being a cop guarantees that you could be killed any day. This time was different. This time, it was personal, not occupational. She surprised herself, today. Even thirteen years later, she was still terrified of Justin Burke. She never thought she had it in her to actually shoot him. She didn't regret it, though. It was him or her and she chose him. But she did learn something: No matter how much you don't want it to, the past always comes back to haunt you.

He could have lost her today. Don could have been mourning the love of his life right now, but he wasn't. Burke and Miller would be the ones six feet under. Don said good riddens to them, two more psychos off the streets. Don looked at Jess as she lay in the hospital bed, using an ice pack as a pillow because she had a big bump on the back of head. He should just be happy that she was alive, but the bruises he could see on her face and neck were painful reminders about how close he came to losing her.

Jess had enough of the silence. "Don, I'm okay." She assured him, squeezing his hand.

"I know. What a day." He said.

Jess smiled. "Tell me about it." Don leaned up and pushed his lips on hers. Jess put her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. When oxygen became a necessity, they broke apart. Don lean forward for another kiss, but Jess stopped him. "My dad is going to be here any minute. I think him walking into a make out scene would give him a coronary." She told him.

Don smiled. "Ya know, I don't think I like you're dad right not." He joked.

Jess laughed. "Liar." She stuck her tongue out.

"Very mature."

"You love it."

Don laughed. "That I do and I love you." He said.

"I love you too." She said, pulling him down for another kiss.

"Okay, love birds, knock it off." Danny said as he, Lindsey, and Lucy walked in.

"Hey there." Jess greeted as she lightly shoved Don into the chair he was sitting in before.

"How you doing, Jess?" Lindsey asked.

"I'm good, better once I'm out of here though." She answered.

Lindsey nodded. They only stayed until Cliff and Jess' brothers all showed up. They only stayed for couple hours when the nurse kicked them out so Jess could rest. Jess went home the next day. The first thing she did was take a shower. Lieutenant Sythe put her on two weeks of medical leave to heal from her injuries and deal with the aftermath of her abduction. Don wanted to take off too, but Jess would let him. Burke was gone so there was no more danger and no reason to worry. "Go, Don, I'll be here when you get back."

Don leaned forward and kissed her. "I know. I'll see you later." He said before leaving. Jess decided it was time for a good long nap.

**_I've rewritten everything after she get out of the basement over and over. This is as good as its gonna get. :p Okay, so I'm all girl power and stuff, so no way was I just going to make her a damsel in distress the whole time. Jess kicked ass! Anyways, The end! I'm changing up the story I told you about before a little bit. It'll still have the same general idea, but with a few changes. Posting it shortly._**


End file.
